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Crom Dubh – Heimweh

Label: Ván Records, March 2015

9/10 – Susanne Sinmara

Sorry, but I cannot not give this record less than 9 points. The quality of outputs that are coming in at the moment is staggering, and this one is no exception. This one falls into the category folk black metal, with the emphasis on black metal in the vein of Primordial with the soaring riffs and melodies that stick after a few rounds. It almost sounds Irish (and I actually thought they were coming from Ireland). They are, alas, from London. Heimweh (German for ‘longing for home’) is their first record, having released two demos and an EP since 2004.

Heimweh consists of 9 songs – totalling in 45 minutes. This is just right, for the one gripe I have with this album is that some of the riffs are a little bit too samey. Other than that there is plenty of pounding, fast black metal, epic ear worms like Cutting Teeth II and the title song Heimweh. The third song The Invulnerable Tide is a mid-tempo song, with an almost reflective mood, while Sedation has a slight epic post-black metal feel to it. Kings I and Fathom are instrumentals only, rounding off the album rather well before treading onto the gas pedal again with Sailing To Byzantium. Great drum work and more riffs that stick.

They really have a knack of finding the right mixture of epic, slow riffs combining them with blast beats, then going into fast bits. Good song writing. Simple, yet effective. There are no edges, it’s simply well rounded. It helps that the production is solid and not overproduced. Lyrically, the album is about the life of a single individual, from birth to death, about loss, longing, rootlessness and death.